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New faculty member recognized as Next Generation Leader by Allen Institute

The Allen Institute in Seattle announced today their 2018 Next Generation Leaders, a group of six early-career neuroscientists who will participate in a special advisory council for the Allen Institute for Brain Science, a division of the Allen Institute. Now in its fifth year, the Next Generation Leaders Program was created for and by researchers in early stages of their scientific career, who don’t always get the benefit of formal external advice.

Included among them is new University of British Columbia (UBC) faculty member Dr. Mark Cembrowski, who will be establishing his lab and joining the brain research community at UBC in early 2019.

“The idea behind the Next Generation Leaders Program is to bring in new ideas and foster collaborations and connections with our own scientists,” said Dr. Julie Harris, Associate Director of Neuroanatomy at the Allen Institute for Brain Science and chair of the Next Generation Leader Committee. “In the five years since this program launched, many of us at the Allen Institute have benefitted from their insight on our research.”

“We're pleased to welcome Dr. Cembrowski to the neuroscience community at UBC, and are convinced that his research discoveries here will have long-lasting impact on both understanding brain function and for guiding discoveries towards potential therapies for treating brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease," said Dr. Brian MacVicar, Co-Director of the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health and Canada Research Chair in Neuroscience. "We agree with the Allen Institute that Dr. Cembrowski is a leader and represents a new generation of neuroscientists.”

The program also provides professional development for its members by offering training on how to serve as scientific advisors to another organization, roles typically not given to scientists until they are well advanced in their careers.

Next Generation Leaders are selected each year through a competitive process that includes applications from around the world. This year, the six Next Generation Leaders come from universities and research institutes in the US, Canada and Germany. They will each have a three-year term on the advisory council. Dr. Cembrowski will be the second Canadian to participate in the program.

The 18-member Next Generation Leader council will convene at December’s Showcase Symposium at the Allen where they will present their own research and give feedback on research presented by early-career Allen Institute researchers. The members also attend one additional scientific advisory council meeting per year to provide feedback on specific research projects.

To learn more about Dr. Cembrowski's research and opportunities to join his lab, visit his website: www.cembrowskilab.com.